Representatives of Brussels-based offices leading the work of the Smart Cities Working Group.
The objective of the Working Group is to act as a platform to offer early information on priorities and funding opportunities linked to Smart Cities, with a focus on the EU Mission on 100 climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030. The WG aims to facilitate sharing of experiences and support matchmaking to develop new partnerships and projects. The WG targets the smart city topic from an integrated and holistic approach, addressing issues such as citizen engagement, data-driven policy and smart governance models, while exploring synergies between the areas linked to smart cities as addressed by the ERRIN WGs on Energy and Climate Change, Transport and ICT.
The Smart Cities WG has taken an active role in shaping the Mission on 100 climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030 - one of the five mission areas under Horizon Europe - and is closely following the implementation of the mission. Visit our dedicated Cities Mission page to learn more about our work on this.
In December 2023, the Council and the European Parliament reached a political agreement on the AI Act, setting out rules for the development and usage of AI in Europe. With AI's growing importance
The topic of widening gathers high attention in the discussions around the next European Framework Programme for R&I, raising questions with the potential to influence not only the Widening sub-
ERRIN has been closely involved in the design and implementation of the EU Missions since their inception. Missions remain one of the network's priorities and were one of the four main areas of focus
ERRIN, together with the MOSAIC project and the European Commission, will host the session ‘Climate-neutral cities by 2030: delivering results through multi-stakeholder engagement’ at the European Week of Regions and Cities 2023. The session, taking place at SQUARE Brussels Meeting Centre, Room 210 on 10 October at 14:30 CET, aims to explore the power of co-creation as a catalyst for social innovation on the path to climate neutrality.
The European Week of Regions and Cities is an annual four-day event during which cities and regions showcase their capacity to create growth and jobs, implement European Union cohesion policy, and prove the importance of the local and regional level for good European governance.
This in-person ERRIN event on 4 October, organised in line with the Management Board priority on widening and deepening engagement in R&I, invites all ERRIN members to share and explore the ways to develop their regional innovation ecosystems going beyond any specific initiatives or funding opportunities. The event will enable informal mutual learning and exchanges of practices between network colleagues from across Europe in an interactive way.
Following the Commission's proposal to create a New European Bauhaus Mission, the ERRIN Task Force is organising an event focusing on the bottom-up approaches to NEB. The output of this meeting will be used to develop an ERRIN answer to the ongoing NEB consultations.
The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) is drafting an opinion "Towards an integrated EU policy approach to support place-based innovation for the green and digital transition". Interested stakeholders are invited for a thematic consultation and exchange of views on 3 October 2023 from 10:00-12:00 at the CoR premises. Registration is possible by 29 September.
The Clean Hydrogen Partnership is organising an event for the launch of European Hydrogen Observatory, on 29 September 2023 from 10:00 - 12:00 CEST.
The ERRIN Year in review 2022 is out! Read the report to see the numerous activities ERRIN and its members have been involved in throughout the year.
The Smart Cities WG leaders developed a letter directed towards the Mission Manager and the Mission Secretariat of the Mission on Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities, as a follow-up from the Smart Cities WG meeting on the Cities Mission and the Expression of Interest in November 2021.
Developing Urban Living Labs is a relatively novel approach in urban areas, and consequently, there are many challenges and barriers that cities face during ULL adoption. This handbook, developed by the UNaLab project, aims to identify and explore some common barriers to the adoption of Urban Living Labs, and provide cities with a tool and an understanding of how to strategically address these barriers.
Please find attached ERRIN's input to the Implementation Plan of the Mission on climate-neutral and smart cities.
Please find attached ERRIN's contribution to the interim report of the Mission on Climate Neutral and Smart Cities and the Green Deal Call 1.2.
The latest version of the interim report by the Mission Board on Climate Neutral and Smart Cities.
With a budget of €4 billion, the Commission has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting innovative projects that contribute to the EU’s green transition goals. The Innovation Fund 2023 calls covering sectors including decarbonisation, hydrogen, cleantech manufacturing, and maritime and energy-intensive industries are open until 9 April 2024, 17:00 (CET).
The third call for proposals of the Scalable Cities Action Grant is open until the end of January 2024. The grant aims to financially support cities and ad-hoc partnerships that wish to replicate measures that were successfully implemented through Smart Cities and Communities projects to facilitate the transition towards climate neutrality.
The European Heritage Hub is collecting good practices to share throughout Europe and beyond! Administrations of a city or region are asked to submit highlights of their work in heritage in the context of the ‘triple transformation ’ – green, digital and social – of our society. Ten practices will be selected for publication and promotion through the European Heritage Hub. Cities whose good practices are selected also get the opportunity to host a peer learning visit with a delegation of 20 participants funded by the project (3 peer learning visits will take place between Q2 2024 and Q1 2025).
On 12 December 2023, the ERRIN Adaptation Task Force organised a hybrid event providing an overview of the available financial and technical support for regions and communities under the EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change. Here is a summary of the opportunities provided within three initiatives running under the Mission Adaptation.
On 7 December, ERRIN celebrated the network’s achievements in 2023. Following an engaging meeting with leaders of our 15 Working Groups, all ERRIN members were invited to a cocktail reception featuring a keynote from Markus Schulte, Head of Cabinet of Iliana Ivanova, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth. Check out ERRIN 2023 highlights in a 3-minute video.
In a dynamic two-day event held on 21 and 22 November, MOSAIC, project in which ERRIN is a partner, successfully hosted its final event 'Co-creation in EU Missions'. City representatives, European Commission policy officers, researchers, private sector representatives and co-creation experts converged to delve the immense potential of co-creation in addressing complex challenges, particularly those posed by the Horizon EU Missions. Learn more and discover the MOSAIC resources available for cities.
The third EUI-Innovative Actions (EUI-IA) Call for Proposals is now open and will close on 14 October 2024 at 14.00 CEST, with an allocated indicative budget of EUR 90 million ERDF. The call is targeting innovative projects focusing on two topics: 'energy transition' and 'technology in cities'.
European cities committed to sustainability are encouraged to apply for the 2026 edition of the European Green Capital and Green Leaf Awards before the deadline on 30 April 2024. The Awards promote and reward the efforts of European towns and cities that strive to reduce their impact on the local and global environment, improving the quality of life for their inhabitants.
For consortium submitting a proposal for a tender on “Territorial perspectives of digital transition in European regions” is looking for experts to take part in their activities. The deadline for expressing interest is on 27 March at 12:00.
On 20 March, the Commission adopted the second Horizon Europe strategic plan. The plan sets out three key strategic orientations for the EU's research and innovation funding for the last three years of the programme (2025-2027). Find out what novelties the new strategic plan brings.
During a dedicated session at the EU Research & Innovation Days, 23 new cities part of the EU Mission on 100 climate-neutral and smart cities were awarded the Mission Label for their plans to achieve climate neutrality by 2030. ERRIN is pleased to see that 15 cities are located in ERRIN member regions.
Project Title - Affordable Housing Enhancement and Regional Oversight for European Sustainability (HEROES) The project aims to equip authorities with the necessary tools and knowledge to establish a sustainable housing policy that harmonizes public and private efforts within comprehensive planning.